In developing this recipe, I was aiming for a result that was both easy to make, and healthy. The finished dish is just that; requiring a minimal amount of ingredients, this Lemon Caper Chicken recipe has the easy capability of serving a large family, while also being a practical solution to the need for a low grocery bill.

(check this recipe out on my blog Michael's Test Kitchen )

The Chicken marinates for a few hours in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest (make your life easier and zest the lemons before juicing them), before being baked in a large baking dish.

To cook efficiently, prepare the potatoes while the chicken is marinating, then place both the chicken and the potatoes in the oven to bake, the potatoes on the lower rack, and the chicken on the middle rack. The potatoes should take a little longer in the oven, so be mindful of the different cooking times for each dish.
Another reasonable ingredient-saver is the final sauce to garnish the dish with – the juices from the baking dish – all the chicken juices with all the marinade that it was baking in. These juices will be poured into a saucepan once the chicken has been baked, and some flour will be added to thicken the mix up.

Step 1: Ingredients

6 chicken breasts

1 lb. potatoes

Marinade:

1⁄4 cup lemon juice

Zest of 2 lemons

1⁄2 cup olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Sauce:

1 tablespoon capers

2 tablespoons flour

Step 2: Cut the Chicken

Cut chicken breasts in half laterally.

Cut into quarters.

Cut each quarter in half, lengthwise.

Step 3: Marination

Mix marinade ingredients together in a small bowl.

Pour mixture into a large plastic bag. Place chicken pieces in bag with marinade, and move around to thoroughly coat the chicken in the marinade. Place in fridge and let chicken marinate for at least 2 hours.

Step 4: Prep the Potatoes

Towards the end of the marinating process, prepare potatoes: cube potatoes, and toss with salt, pepper, and a dash of olive oil in a large bowl. Place potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Step 5: Bake Them

Pour all of the chicken and marinade into a large baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake chicken in preheated oven on middle rack, and potatoes on lower rack. The chicken will take roughly 20 minutes to bake thoroughly, and the potatoes will take 25-30 minutes.

Step 6: The Sauce

Remove baked chicken from baking dish, and pour remaining juices from the baking dish into a saucepan set to medium heat. Cover chicken with aluminum foil.

Once sauce is boiling, add a bit of the boiling mixture to a heatproof bowl, and add 2 tablespoons of flour, mixing to completely incorporate.

Pour flour mixture back into saucepan, and mix to combine. Set heat to low, mince the capers, and add them to the mixture.